Users have traditionally consumed media items (such as books, magazines, newspapers, etc.) in hard-copy form. For instance, a user may obtain a physical book from a bookstore or a library. The user may read the book by manually flipping through its pages in conventional fashion.
A user may now also receive and consume some media items in electronic form. In one case, a user may use a personal computer to connect to a network-accessible source of media items via a conventional telephone or cable modem. The user may download a document from this source. The user may consume the document by printing it out and reading it in conventional fashion. Alternatively, the user may read the document in electronic form, that is, by reading the book as presented on a computer monitor.
A provider of electronic media items faces various challenges. For instance, many users continue to prefer consuming media items in traditional hard-copy form, even though these media items are available in electronic form. The provider confronts the task of capturing the interest of such users, while providing a viable solution from a technical standpoint and a business-related standpoint.
The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and figures to reference like components and features. Series 100 numbers refer to features originally found in FIG. 1, series 200 numbers refer to features originally found in FIG. 2, series 300 numbers refer to features originally found in FIG. 3, and so on.